Physics Books

Book SynopsisOur understanding of the physical world was revolutionized in the twentieth century — the era of “modern physics”. This book, aimed at the very best students, extends the coverage of the theoretical groundwork of today's physics presented in the previous volume: Introduction to Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations (Vol. I). Typically, students have to wade through several courses to see many of these topics. The goal is to give them some idea of where they are going, and how things fit together, as they go along.The present book focuses on the following topics: reformulation of quantum mechanics, angular momentum, scattering theory, lagrangian field theory, symmetries, Feynman rules, quantum electrodynamics, including higher-order contributions, path integrals, and canonical transformations for quantum systems. Many problems are included that enhance and extend the coverage. The book assumes a mastery of the material in Vol. I, and the continued development of mathematical skills, including multivariable calculus and linear algebra. Several appendices provide important details, and any additional required mathematics. The reader should then find the text, together with the appendices and problems, to be self-contained. The aim is to cover the framework of modern theoretical physics in sufficient depth that things “make sense” to students, and, when finished, the reader should have an elementary working knowledge in the principal areas of theoretical physics of the twentieth century.Table of ContentsQuantum Mechanics (Revisited); Angular Momentum; Scattering Theory; Lagrangian Field Theory; Symmetries; Feynman Rules; Quantum Electrodynamics (QED); High-Order Processes; Path Integrals; Canonical Transformations for Quantum Systems; Appendices: Multipole Analysis of the Radiation Field; Functions of a Complex Variable; Electromagnetic Field; Irreducible Representations of SU(n); Lorentz Transformations in Quantum Field Theory; Green's Functions and Other Singular Functions; Dimensional Regularization; Path Integrals and the Electromagnetic Field.

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Book SynopsisOur understanding of the physical world was revolutionized in the twentieth century — the era of “modern physics”. This book, aimed at the very best students, extends the coverage of the theoretical groundwork of today's physics presented in the previous volume: Introduction to Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations (Vol. I). Typically, students have to wade through several courses to see many of these topics. The goal is to give them some idea of where they are going, and how things fit together, as they go along.The present book focuses on the following topics: reformulation of quantum mechanics, angular momentum, scattering theory, lagrangian field theory, symmetries, Feynman rules, quantum electrodynamics, including higher-order contributions, path integrals, and canonical transformations for quantum systems. Many problems are included that enhance and extend the coverage. The book assumes a mastery of the material in Vol. I, and the continued development of mathematical skills, including multivariable calculus and linear algebra. Several appendices provide important details, and any additional required mathematics. The reader should then find the text, together with the appendices and problems, to be self-contained. The aim is to cover the framework of modern theoretical physics in sufficient depth that things “make sense” to students, and, when finished, the reader should have an elementary working knowledge in the principal areas of theoretical physics of the twentieth century.Table of ContentsQuantum Mechanics (Revisited); Angular Momentum; Scattering Theory; Lagrangian Field Theory; Symmetries; Feynman Rules; Quantum Electrodynamics (QED); High-Order Processes; Path Integrals; Canonical Transformations for Quantum Systems; Appendices: Multipole Analysis of the Radiation Field; Functions of a Complex Variable; Electromagnetic Field; Irreducible Representations of SU(n); Lorentz Transformations in Quantum Field Theory; Green's Functions and Other Singular Functions; Dimensional Regularization; Path Integrals and the Electromagnetic Field.

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Book SynopsisDuring a sequence of meals, the author relates the principal features of physics in easy-to-understand conversations with his wife Beth. Beginning with the studies of motion by Galileo and Newton through to the revolutionary theories of relativity and quantum mechanics in the 20th century, all important aspects of electricity, energy, magnetism, gravity and the structure of matter and atoms are explained and illustrated.The second edition similarly recounts the more recent application of these theories to nanoparticles, Bose-Einstein condensates, quantum entanglement and quantum computers. By including accurate measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background and supernovae in near and distant galaxies, an understanding of how the universe was formed in an Inflationary Big Bang is now possible. We've also gained a much better picture of the life of stars and how they may turn into red giants, white dwarfs, black holes, neutron stars or pulsars.Table of ContentsIntroduction: What Keeps Us Going?Physicists, and Other People;; Hard Boiled Eggs with Inertia:How It All Began - with Rolling Balls;; Eggs Bene-Bricked:What Keeps the Ball Rolling?;; Apple-Gravity Pancakes:Why Does an Apple Fall from a Tree?;; Cereal and Calories:But It Takes Energy to Keep Moving;; Hot Cakes with Energy: How Hot is It?;Putting Heat to Work;; French Toast: First Law: You Can't Win;Second Law: Nor Can You Break Even;; Cold Cuts:Go Fly a Kite!;Storing Electricity;; Blueberry Muffins: Electricity in Matter;a.c./d.c.;; Apple Fritters and Love: Magnetic Forces;Magnetic Fields; What Maxwell Wrought;; Eggs and Crisp Bacon: Making Waves;What Waves Can Do;; Oat Meal with Light Cream: What is Light?;How and What We See;It's a Colorful World!;; Lox and Bagels: What's the Speed of Light?;Is It Really Relative?;The Paradoxes of Relativity and Black Holes;; Farina: Does Anyone Believe in Quanta?;What About Atoms?;; Danish Pastry: What's a Wave Function?;Born and Heisenberg have the Answer;; Waffles: Atoms can be Fun;What Attracts Atoms to Each Other?;; O. J. Donuts, and Coffee: Surrounded by Fluids;We Depend on Solids;; Rice Krispies: Who's Afraid of Radioactivity?;What's Inside the Nucleus?;For Better or for Worse -Nuclear Energy;Our Nuclear Legacy;; Corn Fritters: A Mess of Particles;What, More Conservation Laws?;Quarks and More Quarks;The GUTS of Physics;; Breakfast at the Beach: Einstein Centennial;A Promising Nanotechnology;Quantum Entanglement;Quantum Computers;; Lunch at the Beach: Bose-Einstein Condensates;; Lunch at Venetian Bay: Our Energy Problems;Energy Wastes; The Good News About Nukes;; Breakfast at the Beach: How It All Began;Cosmic Microwave Background;Big Bang;Inflationary Universe;Probing the Microwave Background;;

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Book SynopsisThis is a textbook for a survey course in physics taught without mathematics, that also takes into account the social impact and influences from the arts and society. It combines physics, literature, history and philosophy from the dawn of human life to the 21st century. It will also be of interest to the general reader.

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Book SynopsisThis is a textbook for a survey course in physics taught without mathematics, that also takes into account the social impact and influences from the arts and society. It combines physics, literature, history and philosophy from the dawn of human life to the 21st century. It will also be of interest to the general reader.Table of ContentsThe Origins of Physics; Physics of the Ancient Greek Era; Poetry Influenced by the Scientific Revolution; The Concept of Energy; Thermodynamics and the Atomic and Molecular Structure of Matter; The General Theory of Relativity; The Structure of the Atom; Wave Mechanics; Quantum Electrodynamics; Elementary Particles, Quarks and Quantum Chromodynamics; Cosmology and the Universe: The Big Bang, Dark Matter and Dark Energy; and other papers.

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Book SynopsisLéon Rosenfeld (1904-1974) was a remarkable, many-sided physicist of exceptional erudition. He was at the center of modern physics and was well-known as Niels Bohr's close collaborator and spokesman. Besides he reflected deeply on the history and philosophy of science and its social role from a leftist perspective. As both actor and acute spectator of modern physics and as a polyglot cosmopolitan whose life crossed those of many important people in both the East and West, as well as by virtue of his close collaboration and friendship with Bohr, Rosenfeld was an important figure in twentieth century physics. His biography illuminates the development, popularization, and reception of quantum physics and its interpretation in addition to the development of the political Left. The book draws extensively from previously untapped, unpublished sources in more than five languages.Table of ContentsPhysicist of the Second Quantum Generation; Postdoc in Paris, Gottingen, and Zurich; Rosenfeld in Copenhagen; Intellectual Leftist in the 1930s; Surviving the War in Utreght; Cold War Ideology and the Politics of Science; Bohr's Warrior.

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Book SynopsisThe book aims to survey recent developments in quantum algebras and related topics. Quantum groups were introduced by Drinfeld and Jimbo in 1985 in their work on Yang-Baxter equations. The subject from the very beginning has been an interesting one for both mathematics and theoretical physics. For example, Yangian is a special example of quantum group, corresponding to rational solution of Yang-Baxter equation. Viewed as a generalization of the symmetric group, Yangians also have close connections to algebraic combinatorics. This is the proceeding for the International Workshop on Quantized Algebra and Physics. The workshop aims to gather experts and young investigators from China and abroad to discuss research problems in integrable systems, conformal field theory, string theory, Lie theory, quantum groups including Yangians and their representations.Table of ContentsA Note on Brauer-Schur Functions (K Aokage et al.); O-Operators on Associative Algebras, Associative Yang-Baxter Equations and Dendriform Algebras (C-M Bai et al.); Irreducible Wakimoto-like Modules for the Affine Lie Algebra (Y Gao & Z-T Zeng); Verma Modules Over Generic Exp-Polynomial Lie Algebras (X-Q Guo et al.); Partially Harmonic Tensors and Quantized Schur-Weyl Duality (J Hu & Z-K Xiao); On Local Equivalences (N-H Jing); 2-Partitions of Root Systems (B Li et al.); A Survey on Weak Hopf Algebras (F Li & Q-X Sun); The Equitable Presentation for the Quantum Algebra (Uq(f(k)) (Y Pan et al.).

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Book SynopsisWhen a ship's surgeon during a routine episode of bloodletting noticed that the sailors' blood was brighter in the tropics than in the north, he hypothesized that heat was a form of energy.When a young boy tried to visualize what a beam of light would look like by riding alongside it at the same speed, he began thinking along lines that eventually changed our views of space and time.When a student caught hay fever and went to recover on Heligoland, he started a major revolution in physics. These are but just some of the stories covered in this entertaining book that deals with the history of physics from the end of the 19th-century to about 1930.Quips, Quotes and Quanta (2nd Edition) is unique in that it contains anecdotes on physicists creating new ideas. Often the thinking of the creators of what is now called “modern physics” is revealed through quotes. Thematic and biographical in nature, this book also includes many personal incidents.This second edition has been revised to include new material: a prologue, epilogue, glossary and chronology, and photographs as well as additional quotes and anecdotes.Table of ContentsThermodynamics: Founders and Flounderers; Cracks Appear in Classical Physics; It's About Time and Space; Space Becomes Curved; Kilns and Quanta; The Hydrogen Atom: Plum-Pudding or Planet; Action in Physics: The Old Quantum Theory; Particles are Waves are Particles; Schrodinger Makes Waves; Boys' Physics and Quantum Jumping; Matrix Mechanics is Born; The Purest Soul's Beautiful Quantum Mechanics; Quantum Mechanics is Complete; The Electron Spins.

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Book SynopsisIn theoretical physics, theoretical chemistry and engineering, one often wishes to solve partial differential equations subject to a set of boundary conditions. This gives rise to eigenvalue problems of which some solutions may be very difficult to find. For example, the problem of finding eigenfunctions and eigenvalues for the Hamiltonian of a many-particle system is usually so difficult that it requires approximate methods, the most common of which is expansion of the eigenfunctions in terms of basis functions that obey the boundary conditions of the problem. The computational effort needed in such problems can be much reduced by making use of symmetry-adapted basis functions. The conventional method for generating symmetry-adapted basis sets is through the application of group theory, but this can be difficult. This book describes an easier method for generating symmetry-adapted basis sets automatically with computer techniques. The method has a wide range of applicability, and can be used to solve difficult eigenvalue problems in a number of fields. The book is of special interest to quantum theorists, computer scientists, computational chemists and applied mathematicians.Table of ContentsGeneral Considerations; Examples from Atomic Physics; Examples from Quantum Chemistry; Generalized Sturmians Applied to Atoms; Molecular Orbitals Based on Sturmians; Examples from Acoustics and Optics; Examples from Heat Conduction; Symmetry-Adapted Solutions by Iteration.

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Book SynopsisThis book is suitable for a first year, non-calculus physics course. It covers mechanics, fluids, gravitation, thermal physics, electricity and magnetism, and modern physics, including atoms, an introduction to quantum mechanics, special relativity, and nuclear and particle physics. Trigonometric functions and vectors are introduced as needed.Table of ContentsLinear Motion, Kinematics, Vectors; Newtonian Mechanics; Impulse and Momentum; Rotational Dynamics; Oscillations and Waves; Thermal Physics; Static Electricity; Magnetism; Geometrical Optics; Atoms; Particles and Waves - An Introduction to Quantum Mechanics; and other topics in Modern Physics.

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Book SynopsisBest known outside the scientific community for the Nobel Prize in Physics he won in 1991, Pierre-Gilles de Gennes was exceptional amongst scientists for the breadth and depth of his contributions in multiple fields of physics. He was also much ahead of his time in his desire to break down barriers between scientific disciplines and between fundamental and applied science. He was equally unusual in his willingness to explain the nature and purpose of his work to society at large and to young people in particular.Laurence Plévert's fascinating work retraces the influences and experiences that moulded this complex, charismatic, charming and eclectic genius. It follows him from his unconventional childhood on the fringes of the old French aristocracy and in war-divided France, through his glittering school and early scientific career, up to the revolutionary breakthroughs in fields as diverse as superconductivity, liquid crystals, polymers and soft matter, culminating in the final consecration of the Nobel prize.Constructed from exclusive interviews with the physicist himself, his family, friends and colleagues, this biography immerses us in the work and character of a truly remarkable figure, a Renaissance man of the 20th century.Table of ContentsChildhood Wanderings; Birth of a Vocation; Studious Years; Apprentice Researcher; The Big League; Team Leader; The Liquid Crystals Adventure; Out of the Tunnel; Recognition; The Invention of Soft Matter; Head of a School; A Different Kind of Nobel; Life Course; If God Spares MeA"; France Pays Tribute.

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Book SynopsisNarrating the well-lived life of the “Chinese Madame Curie” — a recipient of the first Wolf Prize in Physics (1978), the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate from Princeton University, as well as the first female president of the American Physical Society — this book provides a comprehensive and honest account of the life of Dr Wu Chien-Shiung, an outstanding and leading experimental physicist of the 20th century.Table of ContentsChildhood in Liuhe; A Young Wu Chien-Shiung Became the Favorite Student of Hu Shih; Choice of Future; A Rising Star in Berkeley; Youth and Love; Going East; From Nuclear Fission to The Manhattan Project; A World Authority in Beta Decay; Revolution in Parity Conservation; Experiment at 2000 Feet Below Ground; First Female President of the American Physical Society; Love of China; The First Lady of Physics Research; Wu Chien-Shiung: The Scientist.

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Book SynopsisThe book in your hands develops the best traditions of Russian scientific popular literature. Written in a clear and captivating manner by working theoretical physicists, who are, at the same time, dedicated popularizers of scientific knowledge, it brings to the reader the latest achievements in quantum solid-state physics, but along the way also shows how the laws of physics reveal themselves even in seemingly trivial episodes concerning the natural phenomena around us. Most importantly, it shows that we live in a world where scientists are capable of “proving harmony with algebra”. — A A Abrikosov, 2003 Nobel Prize Winner in PhysicsThe third edition is considerably extended with three new chapters where the author discusses exciting examples of applications of recent achievements of physics in medicine, nanotechnologies, and physics in cuisine.Table of ContentsOutdoor Physics: Meandering Down to the Sea; Rivers from Lakes; The Oceanic Phone Boots; In the Blue; The Moon-Glades; The Fucault Pendulum and the Baer Law; The Moon-Brake; Saturday Night Physics: Why the Violin Sings; The Chiming and Silent Goblets; The Bubble and the Droplet; The Mysteries of the Magic Lamp; The Water Mike or About One Invention of Alexander Bell's; How the Waves Transmit Information; Why the Electric Power Lines are Droning; The Footprints on the Sand; How to Prevent Snowdrifts; The Incident on the Train; Physics in the Kitchen: Ab(Out) Ovo; Macaroni, Spaghetti, and Physics; Waiting for the Tea-Kettle to Boil; The Physics of Good Coffee; "Nunc Est Bibendum": Physicists Talk Around Glasses of Wine; Windows to the Quantum World: The Uncertainty Principle; On Snowballs, Nuts, Bubbles and - Liquid Helium; Superconductivity Passion at the End of the Millenium; What is a SQUID; Superconducting Magnets; What is the Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Towards Quantum Computer.

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Book SynopsisThe Big Bang, the birth of the universe, was a singular event. All of the matter of the universe was concentrated at a single point, with temperatures so high that even the familiar protons and neutrons of atoms did not yet exist, but rather were replaced by a swirling maelstrom of energy, matter and antimatter. Exotic quarks and leptons flickered briefly into existence, before merging back into the energy sea.This book explains the fascinating world of quarks and leptons and the forces that govern their behavior. Told from an experimental physicist's perspective, it forgoes mathematical complexity, using instead particularly accessible figures and apt analogies. In addition to the story of quarks and leptons, which are regarded as well-accepted fact, the author (who is a leading researcher at one of the world's highest energy particle physics laboratories) also discusses mysteries at both the experimental and theoretical frontiers, before tying it all together with the exciting field of cosmology and indeed the birth of the universe itself.The text spans the tiny world of the quark to the depths of the universe with breathtaking clarity. The casual student of science will appreciate the careful distinction between what is known (quarks, leptons and antimatter), what is suspected (Higgs bosons, neutrino oscillations and the reason why the universe has so little antimatter) and what is merely dreamed (supersymmetry, superstrings and extra dimensions). Included is an unprecedented chapter explaining the accelerators and detectors of modern particle physics experiments. The chapter discussing the hunt for the Higgs boson — currently consuming the efforts of nearly 6000 physicists — reveals drama that only big-stakes science can give. Understanding the Universe leaves the reader with a deep appreciation of the fascinating particle realm and reverence for just how much it determines the rich beauty of our universe.Since the release of the first edition, the landscape has changed. The venerable Fermilab Tevatron has ceased operations after a quarter century of extraordinary performance, to be replaced by the CERN Large Hadron Collider, an accelerator with a design energy of seven times greater than the Tevatron and a collision rate of nearly a billion collisions per second. The next few years promise to be very exciting as scientists explore this new realm. This revised edition of Understanding the Universe will leave the reader with a deep appreciation of just why physicists are so excited.Table of ContentsEarly History; The Path to Knowledge (History of Particle Physics); Quarks and Leptons; Forces: What Holds It All Together; Hunting for the Higgs; Accelerators and Detectors: Tools of the Trade; Near Term Mysteries; Exotic Physics (The Next Frontier); Recreating the Universe 10,000,000 Times a Second; Epilogue: Why Do We Do It?.

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Book SynopsisThe Big Bang, the birth of the universe, was a singular event. All of the matter of the universe was concentrated at a single point, with temperatures so high that even the familiar protons and neutrons of atoms did not yet exist, but rather were replaced by a swirling maelstrom of energy, matter and antimatter. Exotic quarks and leptons flickered briefly into existence, before merging back into the energy sea.This book explains the fascinating world of quarks and leptons and the forces that govern their behavior. Told from an experimental physicist's perspective, it forgoes mathematical complexity, using instead particularly accessible figures and apt analogies. In addition to the story of quarks and leptons, which are regarded as well-accepted fact, the author (who is a leading researcher at one of the world's highest energy particle physics laboratories) also discusses mysteries at both the experimental and theoretical frontiers, before tying it all together with the exciting field of cosmology and indeed the birth of the universe itself.The text spans the tiny world of the quark to the depths of the universe with breathtaking clarity. The casual student of science will appreciate the careful distinction between what is known (quarks, leptons and antimatter), what is suspected (Higgs bosons, neutrino oscillations and the reason why the universe has so little antimatter) and what is merely dreamed (supersymmetry, superstrings and extra dimensions). Included is an unprecedented chapter explaining the accelerators and detectors of modern particle physics experiments. The chapter discussing the hunt for the Higgs boson — currently consuming the efforts of nearly 6000 physicists — reveals drama that only big-stakes science can give. Understanding the Universe leaves the reader with a deep appreciation of the fascinating particle realm and reverence for just how much it determines the rich beauty of our universe.Since the release of the first edition, the landscape has changed. The venerable Fermilab Tevatron has ceased operations after a quarter century of extraordinary performance, to be replaced by the CERN Large Hadron Collider, an accelerator with a design energy of seven times greater than the Tevatron and a collision rate of nearly a billion collisions per second. The next few years promise to be very exciting as scientists explore this new realm. This revised edition of Understanding the Universe will leave the reader with a deep appreciation of just why physicists are so excited.Table of ContentsEarly History; The Path to Knowledge (History of Particle Physics); Quarks and Leptons; Forces: What Holds It All Together; Hunting for the Higgs; Accelerators and Detectors: Tools of the Trade; Near Term Mysteries; Exotic Physics (The Next Frontier); Recreating the Universe 10,000,000 Times a Second; Epilogue: Why Do We Do It?.

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Book SynopsisNarrating the well-lived life of the “Chinese Madame Curie” — a recipient of the first Wolf Prize in Physics (1978), the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate from Princeton University, as well as the first female president of the American Physical Society — this book provides a comprehensive and honest account of the life of Dr Wu Chien-Shiung, an outstanding and leading experimental physicist of the 20th century.Table of ContentsChildhood in Liuhe; A Young Wu Chien-Shiung Became the Favorite Student of Hu Shih; Choice of Future; A Rising Star in Berkeley; Youth and Love; Going East; From Nuclear Fission to The Manhattan Project; A World Authority in Beta Decay; Revolution in Parity Conservation; Experiment at 2000 Feet Below Ground; First Female President of the American Physical Society; Love of China; The First Lady of Physics Research; Wu Chien-Shiung: The Scientist.

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Book SynopsisA laboratory manual for high schools, colleges, and universities. The second edition contains more than 140 experiments and demonstrations presented in ten chapters: Introductory Experiments (30), Mechanics (11), Molecular Physics (11), Electricity and Magnetism (13), Optics and Atomic Physics (12), Condensed Matter Physics (11), Semiconductors (10), Applied Physics (11), Nobel Prize Experiments (10), and Student Projects (25). All the experiments are illustrated through the results of real measurements. New experiments developed by the author in 2007-2014 are added to this edition.Table of ContentsIntroductory Experiments; Mechanics; Molecular Physics; Electricity and Magnetism; Optics and Atomic Physics; Condensed Matter Physics; Semiconductor Physics; Applied Physics; Nobel Prize Experiments; Student Projects.

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Book SynopsisA laboratory manual for high schools, colleges, and universities. The second edition contains more than 140 experiments and demonstrations presented in ten chapters: Introductory Experiments (30), Mechanics (11), Molecular Physics (11), Electricity and Magnetism (13), Optics and Atomic Physics (12), Condensed Matter Physics (11), Semiconductors (10), Applied Physics (11), Nobel Prize Experiments (10), and Student Projects (25). All the experiments are illustrated through the results of real measurements. New experiments developed by the author in 2007-2014 are added to this edition.Table of ContentsIntroductory Experiments; Mechanics; Molecular Physics; Electricity and Magnetism; Optics and Atomic Physics; Condensed Matter Physics; Semiconductor Physics; Applied Physics; Nobel Prize Experiments; Student Projects.

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Book SynopsisThis is the story of the author's unique scientific journey with one of the most remarkable men of 20th century science. The journey begins in Sri Lanka, the author's native country, with his childhood acquaintance with Fred Hoyle's writings. The action then moves to Cambridge, where the famous Hoyle-Wickramasinghe collaborations begin. A research programme which was started in 1962 on the carbonaceous nature of interstellar dust leads, over the next two decades, to developments that are continued in both Cambridge and Cardiff. These developments prompt Hoyle and the author to postulate the organic theory of cosmic dust (which is now generally accepted), and then to challenge one of the most cherished paradigms of contemporary science — the theory that life originated on Earth in a warm primordial soup.This new edition examines the many scientific developments that have transpired since the first edition was published. The discovery of bacteria in the upper reaches of the atmosphere, biological signatures in meteorites, spectroscopy of high-z galaxies and more all mesh with many of the ideas that had their origin in the first edition. Pushing into the future, the updated text examines the many experiments and probes currently operating or planned that will shed more light on the theory of planetary panspermia. A Journey with Fred Hoyle is an intriguing book that delineates the progress of a collaboration spanning 40 years, through a sequence of personal reflections, anecdotes and reminiscences.Table of ContentsOrigins: Prelude to the Journey; Cambridge and a First Meeting; A Hike in the Lake District; Betwixt the Stars; The Route to Carbon Dust; A Theory Takes Shape; The Institute of Astronomy: The Vintage Years; Winds of Change; The Cardiff Era; The Search for Cosmic Life; Life from Comets and Pathogens from Space; First Signs of Life; Bacterial Dust Predictions Verified; Life on the Planets; Evolution from Space; Theories of Trial; A Fossil Controversy; Comet Halley and Its Legacy; Alternative Cosmologies; The Last Decade; Epilogue.

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Book SynopsisThis invaluable collection of memoirs and reviews on scientific activities of the most prominent theoretical physicists belonging to the Landau School — Landau, Migdal, Zeldovich, Smorodinsky, Ter-Martirosyan, Kirzhnits, Gribov, Larkin and Anselm — are being published in English for the first time.The main goal is to acquaint readers with the life and work of outstanding Soviet physicists who, to a large extent, shaped theoretical physics in the 1950s-70s. Many intriguing details have remained unknown beyond the “Iron Curtain” which was dismantled only with the fall of the USSR.

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Book SynopsisThis invaluable collection of memoirs and reviews on scientific activities of the most prominent theoretical physicists belonging to the Landau School — Landau, Migdal, Zeldovich, Smorodinsky, Ter-Martirosyan, Kirzhnits, Gribov, Larkin and Anselm — are being published in English for the first time.The main goal is to acquaint readers with the life and work of outstanding Soviet physicists who, to a large extent, shaped theoretical physics in the 1950s-70s. Many intriguing details have remained unknown beyond the “Iron Curtain” which was dismantled only with the fall of the USSR.

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Book SynopsisWhile the two previous books entitled Introduction to Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations and Advanced Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations exposed the reader to the foundations and frontiers of today's physics, the goal of this third volume is to cover in some detail several topics omitted in the essentially linear progression of the first two.This book is divided into three parts. Part 1 is on quantum mechanics. Analytic solutions to the Schrödinger equation are developed for some basic systems. The analysis is then formalized, concluding with a set of postulates for the theory. Part 2 is on applications of quantum mechanics: approximation methods for bound states, scattering theory, time-dependent perturbation theory, and electromagnetic radiation and quantum electrodynamics. Part 3 covers some selected topics in relativistic quantum field theory: discrete symmetries, the Heisenberg picture, and the Feynman rules for quantum chromodynamics.The three volumes in this series taken together provide a clear, logical, self-contained, and comprehensive base from which the very best students can learn modern physics. When finished, readers should have an elementary working knowledge in the principal areas of theoretical physics of the twentieth century.Table of ContentsQuantum Mechanics: Solutions to the Schrodinger Equation; Formal Developments; Applications of Quantum Mechanics: Approximation Methods for Bound States; Scattering Theory; Time-Dependent Perturbation Theory; Electromagnetic Radiation and Quantum Electrodynamics; Relativistic Quantum Field Theory: Discrete Symmetries; Heisenberg Picture; Feynman Rules for QCD; Problems and Appendices: Problems.

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Book SynopsisWhile the two previous books entitled Introduction to Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations and Advanced Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations exposed the reader to the foundations and frontiers of today's physics, the goal of this third volume is to cover in some detail several topics omitted in the essentially linear progression of the first two.This book is divided into three parts. Part 1 is on quantum mechanics. Analytic solutions to the Schrödinger equation are developed for some basic systems. The analysis is then formalized, concluding with a set of postulates for the theory. Part 2 is on applications of quantum mechanics: approximation methods for bound states, scattering theory, time-dependent perturbation theory, and electromagnetic radiation and quantum electrodynamics. Part 3 covers some selected topics in relativistic quantum field theory: discrete symmetries, the Heisenberg picture, and the Feynman rules for quantum chromodynamics.The three volumes in this series taken together provide a clear, logical, self-contained, and comprehensive base from which the very best students can learn modern physics. When finished, readers should have an elementary working knowledge in the principal areas of theoretical physics of the twentieth century.Table of ContentsQuantum Mechanics: Solutions to the Schrodinger Equation; Formal Developments; Applications of Quantum Mechanics: Approximation Methods for Bound States; Scattering Theory; Time-Dependent Perturbation Theory; Electromagnetic Radiation and Quantum Electrodynamics; Relativistic Quantum Field Theory: Discrete Symmetries; Heisenberg Picture; Feynman Rules for QCD; Problems and Appendices: Problems.

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Book SynopsisThe objectives of the conference are to develop greater understanding of physics research and its applications to promote new industries; to innovate knowledge about recent breakthroughs in physics, both the fundamental and technological aspects; to implement of international cooperation in new trends in physics research and to improve the performance of the physics research facilities in Egypt. This proceedings highlights the latest results in the fields of astrophysics, atomic, molecular, condensed matter, laser, nuclear and particle physics. The peer refereed papers collected in this volume were written by international experts in these laser fields.Table of ContentsAtomic, Molecular and Condensed Matter Physics: Solar Activities and Space Weather Hazards (Ahmed A Hady); Electron Beam Ion Trap and Its Applications (Yaming Zou); Fundamental Studies and Applications of Highly Charged Ions (Reinhold Schuch); Stark Broadening Calculations of Several Ti Lines (A I Refaie and H Sharkawy); Synthesis of Rare Earth Doped and Undoped GaN Nano-Crystallites (Lotfia El Nadi, S Ahmed, M Awaad, Magdy Omar and Y Badr); Conductivity Enhancement of Mn-Zn Ferrite by Gamma Irradiation (M A Ahmed, A M Diab and S F Mansour); Giant Enhancement in the Physical Properties of LaFeO3 by Substitution of Divalent Ions (M A Ahmed, S I Dek, M M Arman); High Density Short Pulse Lasers, Lasers and Applications: Advanced Laboratory for High Density Physics (Lotfia El Nadi, A Naser A Fettoh, A Refaie, Galila A Mehena, Hussien A Moniem, Hisham Imam, Khaled A Elsayed, Magdy Omar and Salah H Naby); High Energy Density Physics: The Laser Field of Tomorrow (Richard R Freeman); The Texas Petawatt Laser and Technology Development Towards an Exawatt Laser (Todd Ditmier); XUV and Soft X-ray Laser Radiation from Ni-like Au (Wessameldin S Abdelaziz and H M Hamed); Novel Process for Laser Stain Removal from Archeological Oil Paintings (Lotfia El Nadi, Osama El-Feky, Galila Abdellatif and Sawsan Darwish); Application of Laser Induced Plasma Spectroscopy on Breast Cancer Diagnoses (A Abd-Alfattah, A A Eldakrouri, H Emam and I M Azzouz); Ultrafast Process in Condensed Matter Studied with Ultrashort Laser Pulses (Panagnioti A Loukakous); Nuclear, Particle Physics and Astrophysics: Charge Measurements of Fragmented Nuclei of Si at Different Energies (M S EL-Nagdy, A Abdelsalam, A Algaood and M Ahmed); Research Studies Performed Using the Cairo Fourier Diffractometer Facility (R M A Maayouf); K-Surfaces in Schwarzschild Geometry (Ayub Faridi, Fazal-E-Aleem and Haris Rashid); Light-Strange Mesons Decays in the Quark Model (A M Yasser, E M Hassan, M A Fawzya and M A Allosh); Surprising Rapid Collapse of Sirius B from Red Giant to White Dwarf Through Mass Transfer to Sirius A (Shahinaz Yousef and Ola Ali); Evaluation of Radioactivity Concentration in Tilapia Nilotica and Radiation Dose to Egyptian Population (Hannan H Amer and Enas H El-Khawas); Solar Forcings on Nile and Earthquakes (Saad Mohammed Al-Shehri, Ismail Sabbah, Shahinaz Yousef and Magdy Y Amin); and other papers.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides visualizations of many topics in general physics. The aim is to have an interactive MATLAB script wherein the user can vary parameters in a specific problem and then immediately see the outcome by way of dynamic “movies” of the response of the system in question. MATLAB tools are used throughout and the software scripts accompany the text in Symbolic Mathematics, Classical Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Waves and Optics, Gases and Fluid Flow, Quantum Mechanics, Special and General Relativity, and Astrophysics and Cosmology. The emphasis is on building up an intuition by running many different parametric choices chosen actively by the user and watching the subsequent behavior of the system.Physics books using MATLAB do not have the range — or the intent — of this text. They are rather steeped in technical detail. Symbolic math is used extensively and is integral to the aim of using MATLAB tools to accomplish the technical aspects of problem solving.Table of ContentsSymbolic Mathematics; Classical Mechanics; Electromagnetism; Waves and Optics; Gases and Fluid Flow; Quantum Mechanics; Special and General Relativity, and Astrophysics and Cosmology.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides visualizations of many topics in general physics. The aim is to have an interactive MATLAB script wherein the user can vary parameters in a specific problem and then immediately see the outcome by way of dynamic “movies” of the response of the system in question. MATLAB tools are used throughout and the software scripts accompany the text in Symbolic Mathematics, Classical Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Waves and Optics, Gases and Fluid Flow, Quantum Mechanics, Special and General Relativity, and Astrophysics and Cosmology. The emphasis is on building up an intuition by running many different parametric choices chosen actively by the user and watching the subsequent behavior of the system.Physics books using MATLAB do not have the range — or the intent — of this text. They are rather steeped in technical detail. Symbolic math is used extensively and is integral to the aim of using MATLAB tools to accomplish the technical aspects of problem solving.Table of ContentsSymbolic Mathematics; Classical Mechanics; Electromagnetism; Waves and Optics; Gases and Fluid Flow; Quantum Mechanics; Special and General Relativity, and Astrophysics and Cosmology.

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Book SynopsisOur understanding of the physical world was revolutionized in the twentieth century — the era of “modern physics”. The book Introduction to Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations, aimed at the very best students, presents the foundations and frontiers of today's physics. Typically, students have to wade through several courses to see many of these topics. The goal is to give them some idea of where they are going, and how things fit together, as they go along. The book focuses on the following topics: quantum mechanics; applications in atomic, nuclear, particle, and condensed-matter physics; special relativity; relativistic quantum mechanics, including the Dirac equation and Feynman diagrams; quantum fields; and general relativity. The aim is to cover these topics in sufficient depth that things “make sense” to students, and they achieve an elementary working knowledge of them. The book assumes a one-year, calculus-based freshman physics course, along with a one-year course in calculus. Several appendices bring the reader up to speed on any additional required mathematics. Many problems are included, a great number of which take dedicated readers just as far as they want to go in modern physics. The present book provides solutions to the over 175 problems in Introduction to Modern Physics: Theoretical Foundations in what we believe to be a clear and concise fashion.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Classical Physics; Some Contradictions; Quantum Mechanics; Atomic Physics; Nuclear Physics; Particle Physics; Special Relativity; Relativistic Quantum Mechanics; General Relativity; Quantum Fluids; Quantum Fields; Appendices: Mathematica Program for Problem 2.5; Matrices; Fourier Series and Fourier Integrals; Some Thermodynamics; Some Statistical Mechanics; Some Vector Calculus; Black Body Flux; Wave Functions for Identical Particles; Transition Rate; Neutrino Mixing; Units.

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Book SynopsisThis book contains some of the problems and solutions in the past domestic theoretical and experimental competitions in Japan for the International Physics Olympiad. Through the exercises, we aim at introducing the appeal and interest of modern physics to high-school students. In particular, the problems for the second-round of competition are like long journey of physics, beginning with fundamental physics of junior-high-school level, and ending with the forefronts of updated physics and technology.Table of ContentsPart I: Theory: Mechanics; General Physics; Oscillation and Waves; Electromagnetism; Thermodynamics; Modern Physics; Part II: Experiments: How to Measure and Analyze Data; Practical Excercises; Appendices: Mathematical Physics.

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Book SynopsisThe relationship between mind and reality is usually perceived as an event that takes place in reality and producing simultaneously an internal image in the mind. So it takes place twice, so to speak, and there is a one-to-one correspondence between the two events. Within this conception, matter is embedded in space and time, and can be designated as “container-principle”. This monograph emphasizes that the well-known philosopher Immanuel Kant denied this principle and he stated that reality is principally not recognizable to a human being, and modern biological evolution seems to lead exactly to Kant's point of view. Within the theory of evolution, man's image about reality in mind does not have to be complete and true in the sense of a precise reproduction, and it is relatively easy to recognize that even space and time should not be elements of reality outside. Within this conception, only a certain part of reality, which the human being needs for mastering life, is projected onto space and time, and we come to the so-called “projection principle”. Then, spacetime defines the window to reality, leading to a number of exciting and essential questions, some of which are discussed in this monograph.As is known, current physics is mainly based on the container-principle. But this monograph proposes that the projection principle is obviously more suitable and could help to solve open-ended questions as, for example, in connection with the nature of time, the particle-wave duality, the cosmological constant, etc. Regarding the statistical behavior of matter, Einstein's statement “God does not play dice” has to be seen in a new light, but also Feynman's general viewpoint on quantum theory that it cannot be understood by man. However, conventional quantum theory is obviously not a consistent framework as per the projection principle. The term “world equation” is critically probed in this monograph.Table of ContentsIntroductory Remarks; Role of Evolution; Science and the Progress of Science; Remarks Concerning "World Equation"; Container Principle Versus Projection Principle; Quantum Weirdness; Synchronicity: C G Jung and W Pauli; Cosmological Considerations; Cosmic Inflation: Do We Really Need It?.

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Book SynopsisThe relationship between mind and reality is usually perceived as an event that takes place in reality and producing simultaneously an internal image in the mind. So it takes place twice, so to speak, and there is a one-to-one correspondence between the two events. Within this conception, matter is embedded in space and time, and can be designated as “container-principle”. This monograph emphasizes that the well-known philosopher Immanuel Kant denied this principle and he stated that reality is principally not recognizable to a human being, and modern biological evolution seems to lead exactly to Kant's point of view. Within the theory of evolution, man's image about reality in mind does not have to be complete and true in the sense of a precise reproduction, and it is relatively easy to recognize that even space and time should not be elements of reality outside. Within this conception, only a certain part of reality, which the human being needs for mastering life, is projected onto space and time, and we come to the so-called “projection principle”. Then, spacetime defines the window to reality, leading to a number of exciting and essential questions, some of which are discussed in this monograph.As is known, current physics is mainly based on the container-principle. But this monograph proposes that the projection principle is obviously more suitable and could help to solve open-ended questions as, for example, in connection with the nature of time, the particle-wave duality, the cosmological constant, etc. Regarding the statistical behavior of matter, Einstein's statement “God does not play dice” has to be seen in a new light, but also Feynman's general viewpoint on quantum theory that it cannot be understood by man. However, conventional quantum theory is obviously not a consistent framework as per the projection principle. The term “world equation” is critically probed in this monograph.Table of ContentsIntroductory Remarks; Role of Evolution; Science and the Progress of Science; Remarks Concerning "World Equation"; Container Principle Versus Projection Principle; Quantum Weirdness; Synchronicity: C G Jung and W Pauli; Cosmological Considerations; Cosmic Inflation: Do We Really Need It?.

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Book SynopsisThis volume is a collection of the Nobel lectures delivered by the prizewinners, together with their biographies and the presentation speeches by Nobel Committee members for the period 2006-2010. The criterion for the Physics award is to the discoverer of a physical phenomenon that changed our views, or to the inventor of a new physical process that gave enormous benefits to either science at large or to the public. The biographies are remarkably interesting to read and the Nobel lectures provide detailed explanations of the phenomena for which the Laureates were awarded the Nobel Prize.Aspiring young scientists as well as more experienced ones, but also the interested public will learn a lot from and appreciate the geniuses of these narrations.List of prizewinners and their discoveries:(2006) to John C Mather and George F Smoot “for their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation”The very detailed observations that the Laureates have carried out from the COBE satellite have played a major role in the development of modern cosmology into a precise science.(2007) to Albert Fert and Peter Grünberg “for the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance”Applications of this phenomenon have revolutionized techniques for retrieving data from hard disks. The discovery also plays a major role in various magnetic sensors as well as for the development of a new generation of electronics. The use of Giant Magnetoresistance can be regarded as one of the first major applications of nanotechnology.(2008) to Yoichiro Nambu “for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics“, and to Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa “for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature”Why is there something instead of nothing? Why are there so many different elementary particles? The Laureates presented theoretical insights that give us a deeper understanding of what happens far inside the tiniest building blocks of matter.(2009) to Charles Kuen Kao “for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication“, and to Willard S Boyle and George E Smith “for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit — the CCD sensor”Kao's discoveries have paved the way for optical fiber technology, which today is used for almost all telephony and data communication. Boyle and Smith have invented a digital image sensor — CCD, or charge-coupled device — which today has become an electronic eye in almost all areas of photography.(2010) to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov “for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene”The Laureates have shown that a thin flake of ordinary carbon, just one atom thick, has exceptional properties that originate from the remarkable world of quantum physics.

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Book SynopsisThis volume is a collection of the Nobel lectures delivered by the prizewinners, together with their biographies and the presentation speeches by Nobel Committee members for the period 2006-2010. The criterion for the Physics award is to the discoverer of a physical phenomenon that changed our views, or to the inventor of a new physical process that gave enormous benefits to either science at large or to the public. The biographies are remarkably interesting to read and the Nobel lectures provide detailed explanations of the phenomena for which the Laureates were awarded the Nobel Prize.Aspiring young scientists as well as more experienced ones, but also the interested public will learn a lot from and appreciate the geniuses of these narrations.List of prizewinners and their discoveries:(2006) to John C Mather and George F Smoot “for their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation”The very detailed observations that the Laureates have carried out from the COBE satellite have played a major role in the development of modern cosmology into a precise science.(2007) to Albert Fert and Peter Grünberg “for the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance”Applications of this phenomenon have revolutionized techniques for retrieving data from hard disks. The discovery also plays a major role in various magnetic sensors as well as for the development of a new generation of electronics. The use of Giant Magnetoresistance can be regarded as one of the first major applications of nanotechnology.(2008) to Yoichiro Nambu “for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics“, and to Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa “for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature”Why is there something instead of nothing? Why are there so many different elementary particles? The Laureates presented theoretical insights that give us a deeper understanding of what happens far inside the tiniest building blocks of matter.(2009) to Charles Kuen Kao “for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication“, and to Willard S Boyle and George E Smith “for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit — the CCD sensor”Kao's discoveries have paved the way for optical fiber technology, which today is used for almost all telephony and data communication. Boyle and Smith have invented a digital image sensor — CCD, or charge-coupled device — which today has become an electronic eye in almost all areas of photography.(2010) to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov “for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene”The Laureates have shown that a thin flake of ordinary carbon, just one atom thick, has exceptional properties that originate from the remarkable world of quantum physics.

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Book SynopsisThis book tells captivating stories of misadventures of two renowned theoretical physicists in the Soviet Union. The first part is devoted to Friedrich (Fritz) Houtermans, an outstanding Dutch-Austrian-German physicist who was the first to suggest that the source of stars' energy is thermonuclear fusion, and also made a number of other important contributions to cosmochemistry and geochemistry. In 1935, Houtermans, a German communist, in an attempt to save his life from Hilter's Gestapo, fled to the Soviet Union. He took up an appointment at the Kharkov Physico-Technical Institute, working there for two years with the Russian physicist Valentin P Fomin. In the Great Purge of 1937, Houtermans was arrested in December by the NKVD (Soviet Secret Police, KGB's predecessor). He was tortured, and confessed to being a Trotskyist plotter and German spy, out of fear of threats against his wife Charlotte. However, Charlotte had already escaped from the Soviet Union to Denmark, after which she went to England and finally the USA. As a result of the Hilter-Stalin Pact of 1939, Houtermans was turned over to the Gestapo in May 1940 and imprisoned in Berlin.The second part consists of two essays that narrate the life story of Yuri Golfand, one of the codiscoverers of supersymmetry, a major discovery in theoretical physics in the 20th century. In 1973, just two years after the publication of his seminal paper, he was fired from the Lebedev Physics Institute in Moscow. Because of his Jewish origin he could find no job. Under such circumstances, he applied for an exit visa to Israel, but his application was denied. Yuri Golfand became a refusnik and joined the Human rights movement, along with two other prominent physicists, Andrei Sakharov and Yuri Orlov. To earn his living, he had to do manual work, repeatedly being intimidated by KGB. Only 18 years later, shortly before the demise of the Soviet Union, did he obtain permission to leave the country, emigrating to Israel in 1990.These personal life stories of two outstanding theorists are interwined with the tragedies of the 20th century and make for compelling reading.Table of ContentsPart I: Fritz Hountermans: Life and Work (V Frenkel); Part II: Yuri Golfand's Destiny (B Eskin); To the Memory of Yuri Abramovich Golfand (B Bolotovsky);

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Book SynopsisThis book tells captivating stories of misadventures of two renowned theoretical physicists in the Soviet Union. The first part is devoted to Friedrich (Fritz) Houtermans, an outstanding Dutch-Austrian-German physicist who was the first to suggest that the source of stars' energy is thermonuclear fusion, and also made a number of other important contributions to cosmochemistry and geochemistry. In 1935, Houtermans, a German communist, in an attempt to save his life from Hilter's Gestapo, fled to the Soviet Union. He took up an appointment at the Kharkov Physico-Technical Institute, working there for two years with the Russian physicist Valentin P Fomin. In the Great Purge of 1937, Houtermans was arrested in December by the NKVD (Soviet Secret Police, KGB's predecessor). He was tortured, and confessed to being a Trotskyist plotter and German spy, out of fear of threats against his wife Charlotte. However, Charlotte had already escaped from the Soviet Union to Denmark, after which she went to England and finally the USA. As a result of the Hilter-Stalin Pact of 1939, Houtermans was turned over to the Gestapo in May 1940 and imprisoned in Berlin.The second part consists of two essays that narrate the life story of Yuri Golfand, one of the codiscoverers of supersymmetry, a major discovery in theoretical physics in the 20th century. In 1973, just two years after the publication of his seminal paper, he was fired from the Lebedev Physics Institute in Moscow. Because of his Jewish origin he could find no job. Under such circumstances, he applied for an exit visa to Israel, but his application was denied. Yuri Golfand became a refusnik and joined the Human rights movement, along with two other prominent physicists, Andrei Sakharov and Yuri Orlov. To earn his living, he had to do manual work, repeatedly being intimidated by KGB. Only 18 years later, shortly before the demise of the Soviet Union, did he obtain permission to leave the country, emigrating to Israel in 1990.These personal life stories of two outstanding theorists are interwined with the tragedies of the 20th century and make for compelling reading.Table of ContentsPart I: Fritz Hountermans: Life and Work (V Frenkel); Part II: Yuri Golfand's Destiny (B Eskin); To the Memory of Yuri Abramovich Golfand (B Bolotovsky);

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Book SynopsisProceedings of the 46th Session of the International Seminars on Nuclear War and Planetary Emergencies held in Erice, Sicily. This Seminar has again gathered, in 2013, over 100 scientists from 43 countries in an interdisciplinary effort that has been going on for the last 32 years, to examine and analyze planetary problems which had been followed up, all year long, by the World Federation of Scientists' Permanent Monitoring Panels.Table of ContentsWhy Science is Needed for the Culture of the Third Millennium; Nuclear Power Safety and Development; Pollution and Water; Climate and the Limits of Geoengineering; Mitigation of Megaterrorism and Hybrid Threats; Pollution Innovative Cleanup Technologies; Information Security Round Table; Energy - Key to the Evolution of Cities; Energy as a Planetary Emergency; Aids and Infectious Diseases; PMP Reports and Conclusions; Conclusions; Seminar Participants;

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Book SynopsisSolutions to the 25th & 26th International Young Physicists' Tournament provides original, quantitative solutions in fulfilling seemingly impossible tasks. The book expands on the solutions required by the problems. Many of the articles include modification, extension to existing models in references, or derivation and computation based on fundamental physics, and are not confined to the models and methods in present literatures.The International Young Physicists' Tournament (IYPT) is one of the most prestigious international physics contests among high school students. This book is based on the solutions of 2012 and 2013 IYPT problems. The young authors provide quantitative solutions to practical problems in everyday life, such as the 2013 problem “Bouncing ball” that shows “how the nature of the collision changes if the ball contains liquid”, “Colored plastic” (2013 problem 6) and “Helmholtz carousel” (2013 problem 12) etc.This book is intended as a college-level solutions guide to the challenging open-ended problems. It is a good reference book for undergraduates, advanced high-school students, physics educators and the curious public interested in the intriguing phenomenon encountered in daily life.Table of ContentsSolutions to 2012 Problems: Gaussian Cannon; String of Beads; Bright Waves; Woodpecker Toy; Bubbles; Rocking Bottle; Misty Glass; Frustrating Golf Ball; Solutions to 2013 Problems: Elastic Space; Bouncing Ball; Levitation; Coloured Plastic; Jet and Film; Helmholtz Carousel; Honey Coils; Flying Chimney; Hoops; Fire Hose; Problems of 25th-26th IYPT; Regulation of IYPT;

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Book SynopsisThe book points out what has gone wrong with physics since Einstein's formulation of this theory of general relativity a century ago. It points out inconsistencies and fallacies in the standard model of the big bang and the inflationary scenario which was supposed to have overcome those shortcomings, the evolution of string theory from a theory of the strong interaction to a theory of gravitation and quantum mechanics which has not produced a single verifiable prediction, and what it has accomplished is reaffirming wrong results like the entropy of a black hole, which is not an entropy at all. There have even been attempts to demote gravity to an emergent phenomenon with catastrophic effects. We know exactly what happened at 10-34 seconds after the big bang, but do not know how fast gravity propagates, whether gravitational waves exist, and what are the limits of Newton's law. Attempts to rectify this are the prediction of dark energy/matter, which has never been observed nor ever will, and MOND. The latter is really not a modification of Newtonian mechanics, but a transformation of a dynamical law into a statistical one.Table of ContentsThe Unobservable Universe; Is the Universe Hydrodynamic?; Is General Relativity Viable?; Is Gravity an Emergent Phenomenon?; What is the Vacuum?; Do Negative Heat Capacities Exist?; Has String Theory Become a Religion?;

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Book SynopsisThe book points out what has gone wrong with physics since Einstein's formulation of this theory of general relativity a century ago. It points out inconsistencies and fallacies in the standard model of the big bang and the inflationary scenario which was supposed to have overcome those shortcomings, the evolution of string theory from a theory of the strong interaction to a theory of gravitation and quantum mechanics which has not produced a single verifiable prediction, and what it has accomplished is reaffirming wrong results like the entropy of a black hole, which is not an entropy at all. There have even been attempts to demote gravity to an emergent phenomenon with catastrophic effects. We know exactly what happened at 10-34 seconds after the big bang, but do not know how fast gravity propagates, whether gravitational waves exist, and what are the limits of Newton's law. Attempts to rectify this are the prediction of dark energy/matter, which has never been observed nor ever will, and MOND. The latter is really not a modification of Newtonian mechanics, but a transformation of a dynamical law into a statistical one.Table of ContentsThe Unobservable Universe; Is the Universe Hydrodynamic?; Is General Relativity Viable?; Is Gravity an Emergent Phenomenon?; What is the Vacuum?; Do Negative Heat Capacities Exist?; Has String Theory Become a Religion?;

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Book SynopsisMoore's Law predicts that the degree of microprocessor integration of circuits would double every 18 months in DRAM. Although the scaling of microelectronic circuit elements still follows Moore's Law, the unit density of power consumption becomes unacceptable. Therefore, on one hand, people develop continuously the microelectronic technology. On the other, people consider the developing road after Moore's rule is broken. This book introduces theories and experiments of quantum transport and intends to provide foundations of semiconductor micro- and nano electronics for after the Moore age.Table of ContentsNon-classical, non-linear transport: Properties of quantum transport. Non-equilibrium transport. Resonant tunneling. Longitudinal transport of superlattices. Mesoscopic transport. Transport in quantum dots. Silicon single electron transistor. Silicon single electron memory. Quantum wave guide theory: Properties of quantum transport. One-dimensional quantum waveguide theory. Two-Dimensional quantum waveguide theory. One-dimensional quantum waveguide theory of Rashba electron. 1D quantum waveguide theory of Rashba electrons in curved circuits. Spin polarization of Rashba electron with mixed state. Two-dimensional quantum waveguide theory of Rashba electrons.

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Book SynopsisFreeman Dyson has designed nuclear reactors and bomb-powered spacecraft; he has studied the origins of life and the possibilities for the long-term future; he showed quantum mechanics to be consistent with electrodynamics and started cosmological eschatology; he has won international recognition for his work in science and for his work in reconciling science to religion; he has advised generals and congressional committees. An STS (Science, Technology, Society) curriculum or discussion group that engages topics such as nuclear policies, genetic technologies, environmental sustainability, the role of religion in a scientific society, and a hard look towards the future, would count itself privileged to include Professor Dyson as a class participant and mentor. In this book, STS topics are not discussed as objectified abstractions, but through personal stories.The reader is invited to observe Dyson's influence on a generation of young people as they wrestle with issues of science, technology, society, life in general and our place in the universe. The book is filled with personal anecdotes, student questions and responses, honest doubts and passions.Table of ContentsWalking with Grandfather; Living in the Questions; A Hexagonal Mountain; Martha and Mary; Engines With Souls; Steered From Afar; The Swamp Angel; Rapid Rupture; Arsenals of Folly; To Touch the Face of the Stars; Silence; The Chainsaw and the White Oak; "Why Should I Care?"; Playing God; Bonds of Kinship; Two Windows; Doubt and Faith; Dreams of Earth and Sky; Family First;

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Book SynopsisThe Asian Physics Olympiad (APhO) is a unique, single-subject, practical and theory-based individual competition in the field of physics. It was developed to provide young Asian students with a platform to display their physics knowledge. It is the celebration of the best in pre-university physics.Each year, for about one week, pre-university students from across Asia gather and test their theory and practical skills in physics. This book contains question papers in both theory and experiment and their solutions together with description of various activities of the 15th Asian Physics Olympiad held in Singapore from 11th to 18th May 2014. The book will serve as a valuable source of interesting and challenging experimental and theoretical topics for young physicists worldwide.Table of ContentsParticipating Delegations; Speeches; Opening Ceremony; Closing Ceremony; Committee; Programme; Results; Participants; Problems and Solutions; Theory Problem 1; Theory Problem 2; Theory Problem 3; Experimental Problem; Selected Translations; International Board; Statutes; Syllabus; Minutes of the International Board Meeting; Newsletter; Photos;

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Book Synopsis'Ranging from original photographs to pictures from university archives, the insightful curation of images in this book further enhances the reading experience … An authoritative and comprehensive synthesis of both primary and secondary sources, Nobel and Lasker Laureates of Chinese Descent offers unparalleled insight into the most eminent twentieth-century physicians and scientists of Chinese descent. The book is of broad interest to anyone interested in the history of science and medicine, especially when there is a growing recognition of both the importance of diversity in STEM and the impact of Chinese research on the global scientific community.'Current Biology MagazineAt the turn of the 20th century, the Boxer Uprising marked the culmination of a violent and tragic chapter in Chinese history. Out of the ashes of this calamity, scholarships funded by Boxer Indemnity and many others fostered some of the greatest minds in the Chinese modern era. This book celebrates notable luminary scholars of Chinese descent, with a special focus on 1 Wolf Prize, 4 Lasker, and 11 Nobel laureates spanning a wide range of disciplines in both literature and science. We visit the struggles of pioneers Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen-Ning Yang as the first Chinese Nobel prize recipients for characterizing fundamental laws in elementary-particle physics. Their pioneering works have paved the way for many to follow. We chronicle the careers of more recent recipients, including Mo Yan and his celebration of peasant life in China through the lens of hallucinatory realism. We delve into the lives of these Laureates, witness the obstacles that they overcame, and testify to their lasting contributions to humankind. In recounting the intellectual struggles and triumphs of these pioneers of Chinese heritage, we hope to inspire the next generation of scholars in literature and science worldwide in the hope that they too might become laureates one day.

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Book Synopsis'Ranging from original photographs to pictures from university archives, the insightful curation of images in this book further enhances the reading experience … An authoritative and comprehensive synthesis of both primary and secondary sources, Nobel and Lasker Laureates of Chinese Descent offers unparalleled insight into the most eminent twentieth-century physicians and scientists of Chinese descent. The book is of broad interest to anyone interested in the history of science and medicine, especially when there is a growing recognition of both the importance of diversity in STEM and the impact of Chinese research on the global scientific community.'Current Biology MagazineAt the turn of the 20th century, the Boxer Uprising marked the culmination of a violent and tragic chapter in Chinese history. Out of the ashes of this calamity, scholarships funded by Boxer Indemnity and many others fostered some of the greatest minds in the Chinese modern era. This book celebrates notable luminary scholars of Chinese descent, with a special focus on 1 Wolf Prize, 4 Lasker, and 11 Nobel laureates spanning a wide range of disciplines in both literature and science. We visit the struggles of pioneers Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen-Ning Yang as the first Chinese Nobel prize recipients for characterizing fundamental laws in elementary-particle physics. Their pioneering works have paved the way for many to follow. We chronicle the careers of more recent recipients, including Mo Yan and his celebration of peasant life in China through the lens of hallucinatory realism. We delve into the lives of these Laureates, witness the obstacles that they overcame, and testify to their lasting contributions to humankind. In recounting the intellectual struggles and triumphs of these pioneers of Chinese heritage, we hope to inspire the next generation of scholars in literature and science worldwide in the hope that they too might become laureates one day.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents mathematical methods and tools which are useful for physicists and engineers: response functions, Kramers-Kronig relations, Green's functions, saddle point approximation. The derivations emphasize the underlying physical arguments and interpretations without any loss of rigor. General introductions describe the main features of the methods, while connections and analogies between a priori different problems are discussed. They are completed by detailed applications in many topics including electromagnetism, hydrodynamics, statistical physics, quantum mechanics, etc. Exercises are also proposed, and their solutions are sketched. A self-contained reading of the book is favored by avoiding too technical derivations, and by providing a short presentation of important tools in the appendices. It is addressed to undergraduate and graduate students in physics, but it can also be used by teachers, researchers and engineers.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents mathematical methods and tools which are useful for physicists and engineers: response functions, Kramers-Kronig relations, Green's functions, saddle point approximation. The derivations emphasize the underlying physical arguments and interpretations without any loss of rigor. General introductions describe the main features of the methods, while connections and analogies between a priori different problems are discussed. They are completed by detailed applications in many topics including electromagnetism, hydrodynamics, statistical physics, quantum mechanics, etc. Exercises are also proposed, and their solutions are sketched. A self-contained reading of the book is favored by avoiding too technical derivations, and by providing a short presentation of important tools in the appendices. It is addressed to undergraduate and graduate students in physics, but it can also be used by teachers, researchers and engineers.

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Book SynopsisA huge chasm has developed between modern science and undergraduate education. The result of this chasm is that students who are graduating from college are unable to exploit the many opportunities offered by modern science and technology. Modern science and technology widely uses the methods of classical physics, but these modern applications are not reflected in the physics problems often suggested to students. Solving practical problems is a very effective way to inform students about contemporary science, to illustrate the important relationships between modern and classical physics, and to prepare them for future activity in the modern technological environment. The aim of this book is to try to bridge this chasm between modern science and technology and an undergraduate course in physics.The first part of the book gives an overview of 'hot' directions in modern physics and technology. The second part includes a brief review of undergraduate physics, followed by problems which are related to those directions. These problems, which are based on some of the latest developments in science and technology, can be solved using the classical physics accessible in a standard undergraduate program. Where necessary, the problems have detailed solutions.The second edition of Modern Physics and Technology for Undergraduates includes six new subsections dealing with the most recent developments in science, and a fully updated and expanded list of problems.

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